Iran to buy 114 Airbus planes after removal of sanctions

Iranian Minister of Road and Urban Development Abbas Akhoundi announced that the country plans to purchase 114 civil aircraft from Airbus Group SE, as sanctions against Iran’s aviation industry are slated to be removed soon, Tasnim reported.

Iran has reached an agreement with Airbus Group SE to purchase 114 planes from the French-based company, Akhoundi told the Tasnim News Agency on Saturday.

The Iranian minister further said the aircraft are scheduled to be added to the air fleet of Iran Air.

In recent months, there have been numerous negotiations with major world companies producing aircraft, he noted.

The country plans to renovate Iran Air, and the first step has been taken on this path with the agreement to purchase the 114 planes, Akhoundi said.

The announcement came after US President Barack Obama on Friday empowered the secretary of State to allow the export of civilian passenger aircraft to Iran, a move considered as another step toward implementing the Iran nuclear deal.

A joint statement by Iran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany) on implementation of the deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), is expected later today.

Iran and the Group 5+1 (also known as E3+3 and P5+1) on July 14, 2015, reached a conclusion on a 159-page nuclear agreement that would terminate all sanctions imposed on Tehran over its nuclear energy program after coming into force.

Back in April 2015, head of Iran Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) had said the country needs to buy up to 500 passenger planes in the next 10 years to renovate its aging fleet.

Iranian airlines are currently operating with a fleet of about 140 aircraft, which is very lower than average international norms in terms of international indexes of population and area, the ICAO chief said at the time.

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